Furniture-caster.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE@ GERGE D. CLARK, OF PLAINVILLE, CONNECTICUT;-

FURNITURE-@ASTER s'rEcIrIcA'rIoN foi-ming part of Letters Patent No. 646,570, dated April e, 190e.

i i Application filed vemher 22, 1899. Seria-l No. '73 7,845. (No model.)

To all whom if may concern.:

Be it known that I, GEORGE D. CLARK, a

citizen 0f the United States, residing at Plainville, county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furniture-Casters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact ldescription.

My invention relates to improvements in f urniture-casters, and particularly to a socket whose function is to afford a support for a caster.

Itis the chief objectof this invention to provide a socket which is of light, simple, and inexpensive construction and which is effective and durable in operation.

In illustrating the socket I have shown a variety of modifications upon such a large scale that a portion ofeach of the sockets is broken away.

Figure lis a plan view, partly in section, of a preferred form of my invention. Fig. 2 is a section'on the line Y Y, Fig. 1.- Fig. 3 is a similar view of a modification, and Fig. 4 is a similar view of another modification.

In the several figures it will be seen that there is a tubular member carried upon and held by a plate, Which,'althou'gh not necessarily a track, may be called herein a trackplate.

In Figs. 1 and 2, 2i is a plate which may be termed a track-plate. '22 is an upturned annulus, located at or near the edge of the track-plate 2l and preferably having its sides inclined or tapered, so as to produce a thin edge. In use this track-plate may be driven tightly up into the-lower portion of a piece of furniture, the sharpened annulus 22 permitting the same to be driven into said furniture to aid in preventing looseness of the socket. 24 is the tubular member, whichv tube is upset near its lower extremity to form an annular outwardly.- projecting flange 25, which rests upon the track-plate around the central opening therein, giving a firm bearing between the members 21 and 24. 26 are lugs which may be struck up out of the floor of the track-plate and which may be raised up during the assembling of the parts and then pressed down into firm. engagement with the integral liange 25 in such a manner as to firmly secure the tube to the track-plate. In this way I am enabled, with the greatest economy and without the addition of unnecessary fastening-plates, to secure the parts together. Furthermore, the lugs 2t being short are capable of withstanding great resistance, and consequently add much to the durability of the structure as a whole. In Figs. 1 and 2 the annular flange 25 is formed slightly above the lower end of the tube, which end may project into the central opening in the track-plate. In this way the tube is pre` vented from lateral displacement during the assembling of the parts and when assembled contributes additional strength. The lower end of the tube is preferably cut off flush with the lower surface of the track-plate, or said track-plate may be countersunk after the well-known manner ofcountersinkin g screwholes or by stamping the said central portion inwardly, which expedient is too well known to require separate illustration. By either of these simple methods the end of the tube does not project out, so as to rub upon and scratch the floor, since the smooth surface of the track-plate only can bear thereon.

In Fig. 3, 2l is the track-plate; 22, the sharpened annulus; 34, the tube; 26, the retaining- Y lugs, `and 35 the laterally-projecting integral annular flange on the tube 34. The construction illustrated in Fig. 3 varies only from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in that the end of the tube is upset in a little dierent manner from that shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 3 the tube is upset by turning the end of the tube' back, so as to form a rounded'edge. p The eX- treme end of the turned back portion is fianged outwardly to form a supporting and retaining shoulder 35.

In Fig. 4 the modification consists merely l in omitting the extending of the end of the tube down into the central perforation in the body of the track-plate. In this figure, 2i is the track-plate; 22,tl1e sharpened annulus; 14, the tube; 15, the laterally-projectirrg integral annular flange, and 26 are the retaining-lugs formed in the body of the track-plate 2l, closely adjacent the central perforations. While the method of. uniting the tubevto the track-plate shown in Fig. 4 is simple and economical, it is not, nevertheless, the pre- IOO.

ferred form, since the parts do not have additional means for laterally supporting the tube with respect to the track-plate.

What I claim is- 1. A caster-socket com prisingatrack-plate, a tube, a laterally-extending integral annular liange on said tube and bearing against tbe upper surface of the track-plate around a central opening in the latter, integral retainin g-lugs formed in the loorof the track-plate adjacent'the tube and bearing upon the upper side of the said ange.

2. Acaster-socketcomprisinga track-plate, a tube, a laterally-extending integral annular flange on said tube and near its lower end, said iauge bearing against the upper surface of the track-plate around the central opening in the latter, the lower end of said tube projecting into said opening, integral retaininglugs formed in the floor of the track-plate adjacent the tube and bearing against the upper side of the said flange.

Signed at Plainville, Connecticut, this 18th day of November, 1899.

GEORGE D. CLARK. Witnesses:

J. SANFORD CORBAN, D. G. CLARK.v 

